Today’s Boston Globe had another report about the delayed opening of the Level 4 research lab at Boston University.  Since it was first proposed and funded, this lab has raised controversy – primarily from those in the community who were concerned about the safety of research involving the most dangerous of organisms occurring in their urban neighborhood. While substantive process (and EPA) concerns have been raised during the building and certification of the lab, the problem really appears to have started from the beginning, with BU seeming to believe that all things biotech-science related are golden, and that their new lab would be welcomed into the neighborhood. What happened instead was they got hit with a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) protest.

Too often positive biomedical/healthcare initiatives can get derailed or delayed because the developers or innovators don’t get input and buy-in from the various stakeholders while developing their program or plan. This seems to have happened at BU, and they have been paying the price in dealing with many community protests and objections, and delays in actually opening the lab.

Does anyone have similar situations they would like to share?